Senators Claiborne Pell, Al Gore, and Jesse Helms introduced legislation to impose sanctions on Iraq, and the Senate passed a Prevention of Genocide Act, unanimously, just one day after it was introduced.

My jaw drops, and I make my way to Google Gov to see if any traces of such a bill remain.

I find just a tad bit more than I'm looking for.

The bill summary comes up, all right, in the Library of Congress legislative database (even though it's 100th Congress, and I can't find a way to search Congresses prior to the 101st on the LoC legislation search page). Introduced on September 8, 1988, passed by voice vote the next day, sponsored by notables such as Dick Lugar, Jesse Helms, Carl Levin and one Albert Gore, Jr. . . .

But what are these other two results? Hrm, they seem to be HTML and PDF versions of some article, hosted on .mil sites. That's interesting . . .

I've asked variations on the same question over and over again of Bush supporters: "You can rationalize the Reagan administration's support for Saddam however you want, but the real problem is: Since the people making policy today are the same ones who refuse to even acknowledge their history of supporting this monster, what reason do we have to think they're not making the same mistakes over again, and creating a whole new monster in the process?"

It's a question they don't seem to take very seriously.

Too certain of the integrity and wisdom of their fearless leader, I suppose.